News Archive - March 2002

Wick High School
1966 Reunion Plans Well Ahead
Those of you who started Wick High in 1966 may
be amazed to hear that a group have already laid the plans for a
reunion in the year you are all 50 years old. The Date is 31
July 2004 and the place is the Waterfront. For the next couple
of years the web site will keep you up to date with all that is
happening and who has been found. The committee contact
details are inside. Get in touch , send in old school pictures
or any anecdotes or memories as we get nearer the date or sooner if
you want.

Wooden Crafts On Display - Bridge Street Church Festival On Saturday
These
are just a couple of the many items of wood carving and turning etc
that were on display at Bridge Street church yesterday showing the
many and varied craft hobbies that the congregation does in their
spare time. If they ever need another job I do not think these
folk will have any difficulty.

Edwardian Dolls Furniture
A
collection of Edwardian Dolls house furniture at the Bridge Street
church Festival. The furniture was made by Pat Weir.
Unfortunately the house that she made to hold the furniture was too
large and fragile to transport to the church

Tapestries On Show Yesterday
This
detail is from a larger tapestry that was the very first one that
Mrs Scott tackled in the 1930's. She has been doing them ever
since and just a selection of her work was on display at the Easter
Festival. Her work covers almost anything that can have a
tapestry from pictures to seat covers, stools, tablecloths.
She continues to produce fine work to this day.

Wick Pipe Band Coffee Morning
Wick Pipe Band
provides a lot more than coffee at their coffee mornings. Its
a whole show of Scottish fare. The band plays although
it s smaller group to fit on the stage. But a whole host of
Scottish music and dancing is on offer. Or check out their
weekly summer shows in the evenings if you are in Wick June - Sep.

Pentalina B Starts 2002
Season At Gills Pier
The Pentalina B Ferry service from Gills Pier To Orkney arrived for
its second season. Despite much speculation the new ferry
service operated by Mr Banks from Orkney has proved a great success.
Taking over the ill-fated terminal at Gills the firm has built and
extended the pier workings and put in the landing gear for the
ferry. The service operates all summer and surprised its
owners by the volume of cars and passengers using it last summer.
The much cheaper prices might have had something to do with the
success. Looks like they are set for another successful
season.

30th March 2002

We Are Sad To Announce That The Queen Mother Has Died Peacefully In
Her Sleep
She will be missed on her annual holiday in the county at the
Castle Of Mey this year and in future. The Queen Mother was presented
with the freedom of Wick on 11 August 1956 the only lady ever to receive it.
Queen Elizabeth the Queen mother said the honour "was a symbol of the kindness
which I have always found awaiting me in Caithness".

Daffodils In Union Street, Wick
The
daffodils in union Street are slightly behind the ones at Wick River
and other open places around the town and county. The shade
from the trees holds them back a day or two.

Looking Up Wick River
although
the last few days have been dry and sunny there is still plenty of
water in the Wick river and it looks likely to continue for some
time yet as the ground is still very wet further up.

Latheron Castle C.1919
This photograph is
owned by Mr And Mrs MacGregor of Latheron Mains Farm and is the
earliest one we know of. More of the walls can be seen in
place than in the recent pictures put on the web site.
Rosie O'Hara scanned the picture and sent it in to us

Crows Busy At Old
Parish, Wick
A
large colony of crows lives in the tree tops at the Old Parish
Church, Wick. At this time of the year they are busy building
and repairing their nests. As it is early spring the
nests are clearly visible in the trees and it seemed that yesterday
every crow was transporting all the dead and fallen twigs back up to
the treetops to secure their selected property. In a few weeks
the leaves will begin to hide the nests but the crows are easily
seen around flying back and forward all year. Plenty noise
they were making too.

Caithness.Org
Goes To Bonar Bridge, Sutherland
Before the Dornoch Bridge was built a few years ago Bonar Bridge was the way to
Caithness for most people. It is still worth going the old route now and
then as it is set in another beautiful part of Sutherland in the Highlands.
The salmon station that netted fish ceased just a a few years ago but angling
is still very popular on the water here. We will as ever be back with
many more pictures of Bonar Bridge in next few days.

Inverness Opens A
Major New Road And Land For Thousands Of New Houses
3.3 kilometres of new road from Old
Edinburgh Road at Castle Heather to Stratherrick Road and allocation
of land for 2,300 new houses and a new water system for up to 5000
houses in place makes it look like the prosperity in Inverness is
set to keep rolling. Whether the new city is successful
in its City of Culture bid or not it looks like nothing can halt the
pace of growth in the Highlands major town.

Calling Caithness Committees - Is Your Event, Show, Fundraiser In
Our What's On?
Its FREE and you can fill in the form online in two
minutes. Its probably the cheapest and fastest publicity you
can get. Get your events in as soon as possible for maximum
effect and we may also highlight them on this page nearer the time.
The What's On calendar can have your event on for up to 12 months in
advance. So let everyone know. Think about how long it
takes putting up all those posters and two minutes makes your event
available world wide as well as locally.

28th March 2002

Stars In Their Eyes Night At Blackstairs Lounge, Wick
Friday 5 April 8.00pm Are you a budding
lookalike or soundalike. You can get in on the act by
contacting the Blackstairs Lounge soon to say who you want to be.
They will have make up and hairdressers to help you turn into your
chosen star. They can put you in touch with costume hire if
you need it. Music will be provided and you will be coming out
of the smoke as on the TV show. Prizes for best singer, best
lookalike and Most OTT. £1 entry fee. Want to see the show
then better get their early on Friday 5 April. Phone Valerie on
603911 for more details.

Tartan Day Web
Site Launched In Scotland
National Tartan Day in America was inaugurated by the US Senate in 1998 as a
recognition of the contribution generations of Scots-Americans have made to the
development of the United States. 10,000 pipers from all over the world
will march in New York.

New Pictures In Forse Castle Photo Gallery
Many new
pictures of the castle have been added to the photo gallery.
They were taken on the same day as the
Lybster to Forse Castle walk. Anyone visiting the
castle must do so with great care as it is on the cliff tops and no
guard rails or warning signs are in place. It is not necessary
to venture onto the site for a good view of it from the footpath.

Calling All Gala
Committees In Caithness
Caithness.Org is planning even more coverage
of local Galas in 2002. We are already getting enquires about
dates of galas and fairs. Let us know when yours is on and get
your dates in our What's On section and the Gala section that will
be getting updated as the programmes of events come in. Get in
touch if you have any special events coming up that you want to
publicise on the web site.

Latheron Castle Pictures
A short piece of wall 7 feet thick on a bank of
the Latheron burn, quite near the main road is all that is left of
the castle. The castle ruins were apparently much larger in 1726.
The New Caithness Book by Donald Omand says that there is very
little information about the castle. He refers to "a legend the King
William (the Lion) stayed there early in the 13th century when he
came north with a large army to deal with Earl Harold who was in
open rebellion" Not much left but a lovely site looking down
the Latheron strath. More on this castle at a later
date...meantime see the pictures of the site that is at the back of Latheron Mains farm.

Health Information Point Opens In Inverness
The Health Information service has opened a new service point at
Raigmore Hospital in Inverness. This is according to a spokesperson
similar to the Best of Health shop in Inverness that was closed a couple of
years ago after it was discovered that few people in the Highlands used the
shop. The new information point has the merit of being at a hospital that
many people in Highland visit from time to time. They also operate a
telephone advice service.

AEA
Technology Gains £47 Million Contract In Thurso
AEA Technology Battery Systems one of the companies at the forefront of modern
technology based in Caithness has been appointed sole supplier of batteries to
the MOD. The company has agreed a contract in the region of £47 million to
advise on all portable power systems requirements as well as to supply the
batteries and chargers for the Ministry of Defence's programme.

New Scottish Careers
Information Service Launched
Enterprise Minister Wendy Alexander yesterday launched a new national
all-age guidance organisation which will help Scots win the jobs of tomorrow.
She officially launched Careers Scotland as a one stop shop to provide the
highest quality career guidance to everyone in Scotland from the Borders to the
Shetland Islands.

Caithness Kidney Dialysis
Support Group Latest News
The group has so far raised over £8000
and is gaining support from other groups now running fund raising events
on their behalf. With more groups and individuals joining the
campaign to have a renal unit sited in the county it looks as if this
recently formed group is going from strength to strength. It is
quite clear their is a real swell of grass roots support and it is hoped
that the business plan being put forward by the Acute Hospitals NHS Trust
gets the go ahead to allow a new unit to be set up. Meantime we can
all watch out for all the events and raffles coming round to give it that
extra push.

History Of
Caithness Continues With The Start Of Chapter Four
The latest chapter begins with war in
Caithness. A battle in 1196 at the hill of Clairdon two miles east
of Thurso, assassination, retribution, fighting the Norwegians slaughter
at Murkle Bay. More battles and the Pope and Bishops get involved.
And if that was not enough coming next is murder, mayhem, hangings ,
burnings and the Danish pirates routed and Haco of Norway passes in his
Oak ship with the golden head on his way to the battle of Largs.
Enough for another ten movies. If you have not yet started to read
the History of Caithness
Start Here.
Chapter Five was completed for the
Castles
Section.

A Short History Of Latheron
This short history has been put together by Rosie O'Hara. More
pictures and information will be added to this section at later dates.

More Ballet Classes
From Karen Cameron
Caithness
children have many opportunities to be involved in drama, dancing from
tap, ballet, modern, Highland and the very popular disco classes.
Caithness also has one of the biggest
music
festivals in Scotland for local children with a huge number of
competitions and entrants. If you run any organisations in the arts
fields or have classes please help us build the list to assist parents in
finding out about what is available. Entry to this new section is
FREE. you can send in pictures of your groups or ask us to come
along and take a few for your page.

23rd March 2002

Saturday Afternoon Junior Drama Class
There
are many classes for children, young people and older age groups that we
have never yet got round to listing. We will set up listings for
these and if any teachers want to send us details to add to the lists just
email them into us. Yes Caithness folks and especially their
children are even busier than you have yet seen on the web site.
New Section in
Arts

Castletown
Heritage AGM - Illustrated Talk and Book Launch
Castletown Heritage are having their AGM on Monday 29th April in
the small room of the Drill Hall. It is going to be an interesting one as
we are offering a special reduced price of £15 to those attending the AGM
for the book on Castletown "Flagstone Village". The committee will be
presenting an illustrated talk on the production of the book, which
represents three years of work. We are sure that readers will find it
fascinating. Tea and home -bakes will be served

Junior Drama Class In Wick
Are
theses the budding actors of the future or just kids have lots of fun.
Well they were certainly a happy lot today and enjoying their Saturday
drama class at the Assembly Rooms in Wick

Another Miller Academy 1962 Centenary Picture
this
is number 20 that we have received for this centenary year of 1962.
We keep thinking we will soon have the complete set when another one
surfaces. How many classes were in this school in 1962. Does
anyone remember? If you have one that is not yet in send it on in.

"Seals Will Not Be Shot" says John Thurso MP
With at least two petitions supporting the "Leave The Seals Alone Camp" and a
rising tide of spotlights n the problem on national TV and many local and
national newspapers our local MP and owner of the river John Thurso has
announced that the seals will definitely not be killed.

First Salmon
of 2002 On The Wick River
From Hugo Ross - Fishing Tackle
Shop Wick
The first salmon was caught on Friday 22 March by Wick angler James
Ross. It weighed in at 10lbs 12ozs and was caught on a Munro Killer
Fly at the "Little Pot" just below Watten

The New Caithness Is
Rising Fast -
New Houses
In case you thought Caithness was just a nice place
to visit with "olde worlde" crofts and castles we thought you might like
to see some of the modern homes being built in the county. This project
near Scrabster has a range of modern houses each one being built to a different
design. The quality of life combined with house prices often way below
other parts of the UK and with an upsurge in employment in the Thurso area
means there is strong demand for new homes. This new estate is
expanding rapidly to meet demand and it looks likely they will build many more
in coming months. We will let you see more of this development later.

Fish Market - Scrabster
Developments in recent years have made Scrabster one of the busiest fishing
ports in the north of Scotland. The new fish market and buildings in the
harbour area have transformed the surroundings of the harbour. Every day
fish is shipped out all over the UK and to European destinations.

The Last House Museum - John
O'Groats
This
is probably one of the most photographed buildings in Caithness.
Once a family croft it has been for many years a small museum with many
old implements from earlier days and a collection of pictures of wrecks in
the Pentland Firth and wartime information. Collections of old
photographs are available to browse through. At the back of the
building is a small shop. The house sits beside the harbour used by
the short crossing ferry to Orkney and small creel boars.

WK30 Sheigra -
Scrabster Harbour
There
is a variety of boats using Scrabster harbour but one of the more common
working boats are the creel boats. These small boats work regularly
for crab, lobster and other shellfish using traditional creels usually
roped together and pulled from the seabed by small winches. Still a
hard days work.

21st March 2002

Pre
School Drama Group In Thurso Town Hall
There should be no shortage of future members for
all the drama groups in Caithness with the successful pre-school classes
now being run in Thurso Town Hall and Wick Assembly Rooms. These
youngsters were having a great time this week.

Yarrows Archaeological Trust - A Whirlwind of Activity
The recently formed Yarrows Archaeological trust is in overdrive already with a
flurry of activity and fund raising as can be seen from their latest minutes of
a meeting held on 6 March. Iain Sutherland announced a donation from the
Wick society of £500 and that future money collected from the box at Whaligoe
steps would go to the trust. Other sources of funding have been pledged
and identified but more will be needed. Some of the field work starts on
Saturday 23 March.

Gaelic Writer Kevin
MacNeil Ends Iain Crichton Smith Fellowship With Two New Books
Writer Kevin MacNeil, who is nearing the end of his three-year tenure as The
Highland Councils Iain Crichton Smith Writing Fellow, has brought out two new
books paying tribute to the literary hero. Kevin presented The Red Door and The
Black Halo to The Highland Councils Gaelic Working Group during their meeting
last week. These books bring together for the first time all the short stories
Iain Crichton Smith wrote before his untimely death in 1998.

Caithness
Girl Starts Petition To Ensure Safety Of Thurso Seals
Michelle Davies fears that the
seals will eventually be killed and wants to make sure that everyone has a
chance to voice their opinion on the topic. She has started to
collect signatures on a petition to get support for the seals from local
people and is now circulating it initially in Castletown and Thurso.

20th March 2002

Bay Trader At
Wick Harbour -With a Cargo Of Er...Supergrass!!!
The
cattle and sheep are going to get fatter this year as Bay Trader lands a
cargo of fertiliser or at least that's what it appears to be in those "big
plastic bags" Did you know Caithness used so much fertiliser
as has landed in the last few weeks. We sure have learned something
watching it all come in.

Lairg Willow Maze
The maze will be constructed from two-year-old 'willow wands' which will be
driven into the ground and woven into arches. As spring progresses and the sap
rises the willow will put out new leaves and the maze will start to have solid
walls of greenery. A second layer of wands will be woven in next year to make
the structure more robust.

Comet Ikeya-Zhang - Good Views
Expected In Caithness & Northern Scotland
Recently discovered by two astronomers in different
part so the world Ikeya-Zhang promises to be the brightest comet visible
in the UK since Hale-Bopp five years ago although this one will be nothing
like as spectacular. That was a great site in the Caithness sky for
quite a while . In the UK the farther north the better for this
latest one. After sunset and best from about 25 March. Check the
horizon in the west and look for Mars. Using binoculars the tail of
dust and debris should be visible.

Highland Council
E-Procurement First In Europe
Caithness Schools will soon be ordering all their books and supplies online as
Highland Council becomes the first in Europe to go for total online ordering.
Portree Primary School in Skye sets the standard for UK Internet Purchasing The
Highland Council is pioneering a new method of purchasing using the
internet, making it the first local authority in Europe to buy all its goods
and services on-line.

New Highland Joint
Community Care Plan
Major changes in the way in which Health and Social Work Community Care
Services are organised and delivered are featured in a new joint Community Care
Plan published today.

Sheep Saga -
The North Ronaldsays
Here is an interesting article From the October 1988
Caithness field Club Bulletin on the famous North Ronaldsay Sheep.
They survive by eating the seaweed on the shore outside a dyke that goes
right round the island.

19th March 2002

Seals Still Coming Into Thurso
River Today
The
seals were back up the river today. One or two were even finding a
way under the netting and swimming on the inside and moving back and
forward. About 6 seals were swimming up and down the river at high
tide today.

St Ola Ferry At
Scrabster
Sunny
Day at Scrabster today as the St Ola was loading before leaving for the
Orkney Islands. In the background is the crane working on the new
pier that will make huge increase in the harbour capabilities.

South
School, Wick - World War Two Day
The
culmination of the term's studies of World War Two for Primaries 6 and 7
today saw them invite older citizens for tea and to talk about their
wartime experiences. The children had been looking at the war and
how it affected many groups and the affect on children and their lives.
More pictures coming soon...........

Lybster To Forse Walk - Next Pictures 11 - 20
You will see that this is going to be a very detailed set of pictures
letting you see every view possible on this fantastic walk to Forse
castle. But the camera can only take in so much. It cannot
breathe the air, deliver the tang of the salt air, the new grass and
flowers emerging, the sounds of the many birds, skylarks, gulls, and many
others and believe it or not it was actually warm - in March.

Disability Rights
Commission Newsletter - March
Issue four is another packed with information,
encouragement and success stories. We are publishing the newsletter
in full to assist more people in finding out about this very useful source
of information from the Disability Rights Commission. You will
always find it in our
Disability Links
Page.

Thurso Folk - A Black
& White Portrait Exhibition
Local Photographer
Mike Brunton starts a portrait exhibition in the Swanson Gallery, Thurso on
22 March. The exhibition that will run until 13 April is dedicated in part to the people of Thurso who over many years have
given freely of their work, time and effort to the various organisations,
clubs, charities etc. that have helped give us the community we have
today.

Early Intervention
Programme Brings Dramatic Improvements in Literacy Levels
An Early Intervention Programme has seen Highland Primary schools in deprived
areas improve pupil performance in reading by double, and mathematics by seven
times the Highland and national average. By the end of the programme pupils in
the early intervention group showed an average gain of 22 months in reading age
in one year  almost double the improvement expected in the past.

Thurso Seal Problem Hits
National News On BBC
The
seals in Thurso became the focus of national attention today in an item on
the BBC lunchtime news. The river superintendent said he was "at his
wits end" as to know what to try next to move them on from the island home
they have set up. Despite their popularity with Thurso folk and
visitors in the last few months the final solution of shooting them is
apparently coming closer. Check BBC1 News tonight for repeat of the
item.

Lybster to Forse With The Rangers
Yesterdays
walk from Lybster to Forse on the best day of the year so far as it turned
out was a great opportunity to see this magnificent coastline at its best.
Her are a few of the group that set out. Over the next day or two
pictures from the day will be added. More pictures of Forse castle
taken will be added in the Castles section once we have them all ready.
Yesterday had it all. great weather, spring flowers, plenty of seabirds
and others. History - castles, old fishing stations, magnificent
cliffs and sunshine. Thanks to the rangers for a great day out.
You can do this walk yourself anytime and the pictures coming soon will
follow what you can see on the way.

Attempted Armed Robbery -
Wick
About 2210 hours on Saturday, 16th March, 2002, a Wick taxi operator picked up
two men as a fare in his BMW taxi on River Street, Wick, near to the Bridge
Street roundabout.

The A99 Latheron To Wick
A
new section on the A99 the main East coast road from Latheron to Wick.
A few years ago the road authorities changed the route of the main A9
making it follow the Causewaymire heading to Thurso and Scrabster.
Many visitors now miss out on the magnificent views of the east of the
county if they follow the signs for the main A9. The coastal route
of the now A99 to Wick has a huge amount of coastal scenery not to be
missed. this section will have more pictures added in coming months.

Highland Beaches Win Awards
Six rural beaches in Sutherland and a resort
beach at Nairn have won seaside awards issued by Keep Scotland Beautiful
and the Tidy Britain Group which gives them the right to fly the coveted
yellow flag.

Latheron Mains
This
farm house sits nicely back from the main road at Latheron. It is
opposite the village hall with a screen of trees between it and the main
road. A wall at the back of the house is the remains of Latheron
Castle that sits on at the top of a small gorge where a stream descends in
its final drop a before making its way to the sea. Pictures of the
remaining wall will be in the Castles section at a later date.

Looking Over Latheron Today
After
the walk with the Rangers on a glorious day a few pictures at Latheron and
here is the first. More tomorrow along with Forse castle pictures in
the next few days. Tucked in here is the remains of Latheron Castle.

Forse Dovecote
Another
fine dovecote still standing. This one is mid 18th century and is
divided into two sections. There are nearly 400 nesting boxes and no
doubt it provided a good source of pigeon pie for the big house.

Mid Nineteenth Century Pensioners In The North Of Scotland
This article by Angela Finalyson for
the Caithness Field Club Bulletin of October 1988 examines the records
held about pensioners some of whom fought in the Napoleonic wars and well over £2000 was being paid quarterly to
pensioners in Caithness and Sutherland by bank agents in Dornoch and
Thurso. Other sources have suggested that, because the pensions were paid
quarterly in arrears, many Pensioners lived in debt at the mercy of loan
sharks.

16th March 2002

Clan Sinclair Canada
- New Web Site
From Iain laird who received this announcement today
-
"William (Bill) Sinclair, President of the Clan Sinclair Canada is pleased
to announce the launch of the Association's own web site at
www.clansinclaircanada.ca at 1500 GMT/1000 hrs EST Ontario today.
This is a dynamic project and will therefore move and change as it
develops. This is a site for our Members, Clansfolk, friends and many
supporters and so welcome suggestions and contributions to the areas it
addresses, and particularly photographs and accounts of Clan functions.
Please browse and enjoy!" The link is also now in our Sinclair Connections Good Luck To the
Canadian Sinclairs from Caithness.

John Thurso MP
Opens A New Office In Thurso For R M Consultants
R M Consultants are at the forefront of risk management, health and safety
and environmental advice. The company employs over 60 engineers and
scientists. With 12 staff at the new office in Thurso they will be
continuing their involvement in decommissioning for the longer term.
The firm are also expanding in other directions and there will be
increasing opportunities especially for graduates.

Dunnet School - About 1910 - 1911
Here
is a great pictures with all the names from Sheila Moir. Sheila's
mum and uncles are in the picture and she got the names and many addresses
from her aunt Mary Ann of
Mary Ann's cottage. As we are sure many of you will be
examining this picture closely to identify people we have added two
enlargements of the left and right sides.

Janetstown School 1964
Many
thanks to Brian Forsyth, formerly of Oust and Janetstown,
now living in Arbroath and to James Chalmers for helping to get this
picture to us for the growing Schooldays
section

Rangers Nature Notes Latest
First sighting of a harbour porpoise swimming in Dunnet Bay
on 4th March about 9.20am around Castlehill Harbour about 30 metres off
shore heading towards Murkle Bay. What birds are around and flowers
appearing.

Second Suspect
Radioactive Particle Found Today At Sandside
A second suspected radioactive particle this month resulting from historical
operations at Dounreay was found during routine monitoring of Sandside Beach
today. Initial indications suggest that the particle is similar in type
and characteristic to the other 18 that have been found on the beach since
1984.

Postal Service Competition
Will Not Deliver In The Highlands
Is it then end of mail delivery services as we know it in Caithness and the
Highlands. Highland council has expressed its fears that the introduction of
free market competition will disadvantage the less well off in rural areas.
Other bodies are talking about the possibility of an end to mail delivery for
certain areas and a system of collecting your own mail as some other countries
already have. Do you want competition or are you prepared to pay more for
your service.

Dynamic Capital Of
Culture Bid For Highland
Highland Councillors will be asked next week to endorse an "ambitious and
dynamic" bid being made for Inverness and the wider Highlands to become the
European Capital of Culture in 2008. At a special meeting of the full council
on Thursday 21 March, they will consider a report from Bruce Robertson,
Director of Education Culture and Sport.

The Write Place For Computer Problems - Computafix
Here is a new service from
The Write Place
sure to be in demand for fixing computers - hardware or software
problems. Already available to deal with business health and safety
documentation or a wide variety of printing solutions this is a new
call-out service
"Computafix" It's a No Fix No Fee service - call
out charges apply. Remember you will find The Write Place
Computafix Service fast in our drop down menu at the bottom of this page
and in the Business Pages. Just Remember Write Place - Right
Place - Computafix.

Spittal Quarry
Still Quarrying To Pave The World With Caithness Flagstone 14 March
The Caithness flagstone Industry began in 1825 by James Trail of Rattar has had
its ups and downs. In recent times it has had a great revival. With
modern machinery, cutting tools and transport the world is once again seeing
the famous flagstone being laid around the world. Many new prestigious
buildings in the UK and abroad are demanding a natural look that can also give
a guarantee of log life and durability. Caithness flagstone is top
quality and has once again in recent years proved it has the power to create
employment in the county.

Thurso Gardener's Hit Lucky
On The National Lottery
"It could be you", and it certainly
was on Saturday night for Thurso's Council Gardeners, for they struck it
lucky with the National Lottery, winning £140,032. The four council
gardeners and one retired gardener got the shock of there lives when their
numbers came up. The winning team were Nicky
Alderson, Campbell (Mackie) Dobbie, Head Gardener John Ross, Kenneth
Maclpine and Kelvin Angus.

Emergency Repairs At Castle Sinclair
Ian Sinclair Of Noss
has identified and supervised the emergency repairs to castle Sinclair
following his discovery of a slippage problem. Fortunately the
Clan Sinclair
Trust was able to step in immediately and cover the costs of the
emergency work. While we are on Clan Sinclair the Clan gathering
is fast approaching - 27 - 31 May. Check the
Clan
Sinclair Events Page for details. More pictures of the problem
from Ian Sinclair on the clan site.

Did You Know It's World
Book Day Today
The libraries in Thurso and Wick have exhibitions of books and pyjamas.
Well it's also Bedtime Reading Week. Every child at school in the UK will
get a book token to use for a World Book Day book or towards the cost of
another book. Why not stroll into the library today and take a look.
And if you want to debate the odd book the crowd in our message board are now
reading a book world wide before they get going on a few arguments and debates
about the book. If the current book is not to your taste keep looking in
or suggest the next one.

Mey School - About 1933
this
picture has been sent in by Sheila Moir. Most of the names and
addresses are in but if you can confirm the ones with question marks
then get in touch. More School
Days pictures are on the way from several of you and we will get
them on as fast as we can.

Hospital News - Issue 4 - March
The newsletter is aimed at health professionals
but may be of interest. this one has details about the proposed
new renal services in the Highlands and the new Consultant Obstetrician
and Gynaecologist at Caithness General as well as other Highland
hospital news. The plan is to run it on the Hospitals own web site
and once they do so we will cease publication and make a link from the
page to the new section on the Acute Hospitals web site.

Help Select A
Caithness County Flower For The Queens Jubiliee
As part of the
celebrations of the Golden Jubilee, the plant conservation charity
Plantlife is setting out to encourage each county in the UK to adopt its
own wild flower emblem. Ken Butler the Botanical
Recorder for Caithness suggests that Caithness takes part in
this project and selects a flower that is worthy of the county. Ken Butler holds and maintains all the
information about wild plants and their distribution, on behalf of the
Botanical Society of the British Isles. Ken has suggested we all
take part in selecting a county flower. You can add your own suggestions
on the Plantlife web site.

12th March 2002

Science Week At Raigmore
Hospital, InvernessThe local branch of
the Institute of Biomedical Science at Raigmore Hospital is
participating in National Science Week 8th-17th March 2002.Presentations will
include a demonstration of new Haematology Analysers, which will
provide a significantly improved level of service to patients across
the Highlands and Western Isles.

Murkle School -
Possibly 1951
Murkle
Primary school thought to be about 1951. Mrs Amelia Begg (nee
Wylie) was the teacher at the school. The picture was supplied
by her daughter-in-law Alison Begg who was married to the late James
Wylie Begg who was a pupil in his mother's class at Murkle. If
anyone can help with names then email them to us.

New Tactics In Thurso
Seal Confrontation
The men were putting up two scarecrows, while the
seals had taken up residence on the other island. Eventually they
put up a scarecrow on the second island as well. While the pictures
were being taken an otter came up and expressed his disgust
taking pictures of the seals and not him and his mates! Is
this a seal tactic bringing in the otters to help them and are they
not also partial to fish. It never rains but it pours.

Latest Patients Council Minutes - December 2001
The latest minutes made available to the
public are now in the section. The reason that the minutes
take so long to get into the public domain is that they require to
be approved at the next Patients Council Meeting before being
released. the meeting was in February and the minutes have
only now been circulated to to other bodies.
A new list of Patients Council members is now also posted on
the web site.

Ranger Bird Raft Project Going Well
Day
One yesterday of the Bird Raft building at St John's Loch being
organised by Mary Legg as part of her Earthwatch project was on
schedule. The nine volunteers will be finishing the raft and
floating it out next Saturday. Anyone can help by contacting
Mary Legg at the Ranger Station at Dunnet.
Note - Mary has asked us to point out that the raft will be
on a pond beside the Loch and not on St John's Loch itself.

Prosecution
Threat To Drivers At Clashnaharry
Police in Inverness are reminding road users that as
of Monday, 11 March 2002, an emergency weight restriction of 7.5
tonnes is being imposed on the Clachnaharry Bridge on the A862
Inverness to Beauly road. Drivers disobeying this
restriction are warned they will be liable to prosecution.

Wick Girls Pipe Band - Another 10 New Pictures Added
Many more pictures are yet to come of this famous band and we will
now add them in groups of ten as they are prepared for the pages.
If anyone has information - dates, names etc then please send us
details as we have none of this information at present to go with
the pictures.

8th March 2002

Miller Academy 1962
This
photograph sent in by Maurice Boardman is number 19 for the
centenary year 0f 1962. Maurice has put in names but a few
questions marks remain if anyone else can help out with the missing
one. And does anyone know if we have a full set for the school
that year? We must be getting close now.

Clachnaharry
Bridge Weight Restrictions 11 March Till Autumn
An emergency weight restriction of 7.5 tonnes is being imposed at
the Clachnaharry Bridge on the A 862 Inverness  Beauly road from Monday 11
March. This will effectively ban all heavy vehicles from crossing the
bridge until the deck of the 140-year-old bridge is replaced. The replacement
is expected to take place in the autumn.

Caithness Kidney Dialysis Support Group Receiving A cheque From Wick
Thistle FC
Receiving
the boost to their fund raising efforts some of the support group
were glad to hear this week that it was the intention of the
Highland Acute Hospitals NHS Trust to locate a new renal unit at the
Caithness General Hospital. Patients currently have to make a
three hour trip up to three times per week in each direction for
treatment. the new unit when opened would alleviate all of
that travelling for northern patients. December is the
target date to open the new unit.

Mary
Legg Ranger Looking For Help To Build Bird Raft
Mary will be building a raft to give some
protection to birds nesting at St Johns Loch. If you would
like to assist Mary contact her at the Ranger Station and meet 9.45
at the Pavilion at Dunnet. The raft building will be on this
Saturday 9th and next Saturday 16th with the raft being anchored in
the middle of the loch once constructed.

7th March 2002

League Of Friends Present New Ice Machine/Water Cooler To A & E
The
League of Friends of Caithness General Hospital tonight presented
the Accident and Emergency Department of the hospital with a new Ice
and Water Cooler Machine costing £1600. The ladies fund raise
continually throughout the year and help the hospital in many ways.
Over the years they have helped to ensure that many extras as well
as essential pieces of equipment have been donated to the hospital.
Well Done Ladies.

Webby Stuff For Non Profits
You can get your information on Caithness.Org
for free if you are in Caithness. But if you are ready to give
it a try why not put your own web site up and then come and get it
linked via Caithness.Org. More groups are doing this all the
time. Here are a few links to help you get started on how to
do it and what to consider. Go looking and you will find
plenty more out there and you can learn it all at home.

Email Scam Hits The
Highlands Yet Again
Hard to believe it but this scam being warned
about by Highland Consumer Council has been around so long its a
wonder that anyone on the planet does not know about it. But
just in case that person is on this planet we run the warning on
this variation of the old "Wanna Get Rich Quick?" theme yet again.
You will also find a few links for a wider explanation if you need one as to
why not to give your bank account, credit card details to anyone who asks.

Crossroads School App 1914
Thanks
to Sheila Moir for this picture of Crossroads school and for the
detailed information that goes with it.

6th March 2002

Wick High
School 1980 - 6th Year
Derek
Douglas has sent this pictures of his class as part of the start of
a new section for the year reunion for those who
started 1st year at Wick High School in 1974. The reunion is to be
held in the Mackays Hotel on Friday 26th July 2002. Check the 74-80 Reunion Page
regularly for updates

Miller Academy 1948 - Third Year
Thanks
to Willie Macdonald, Kirkwall for sending in this picture of his
class in third Year at Miller Academy in 1948.
Send in any pictures for Schooldays pages by email -
preferably jpeg files. If you live locally just phone and we
will uplift and return after scanning.

Police
Station In Wick - Today's Pictures
Despite
the recent snow and rain work is going ahead on the new police
station and materials are arriving all the time. Concrete
blocks and sand and other items were much in evidence today.
Wonder where the cells are located?

Pilot House, Wick
The
Pilot house that overlooks Wick Harbour and the bay was presented in
October 1908 by the MP - Sir Arthur Bignold of Lochrosque. It
is supported by cast iron columns in each corner and has benches all
round for seating. Great view point for the harbour and to
watch boats coming in and out.

Email To Fax Machines Via Caithness Business Pages
Another FREE upgrade for every business
with a fax listed in our Caithness Business Pages. Anyone with
email can now click on the fax number and send an email direct to
any of the fax numbers listed in our Business Pages.
Businesses without email facilities but who have a fax machine have
just been improved at a stroke by our new service. Check it
out - it really works.

Chapter Three Of The History Of Caithness - Enter Sweyn
The Pirate
Another short chapter but full of adventure
and introducing the famous Caithness pirate Sweyn whose adventures
and murderous deeds would make any film producer drool. Read
about his plundering round the coast of Scotland all the way to
Cornwall, the Isle of Man and Ireland.

Snow In
Wick From Folk Who Were Rescued On A9 Recently
Clare Miller and friends Colin and Rosemary Mitchell were among a
group of folk rescued from the snowstorm recently that blocked the
A9 at Berriedale. Colin and Rosemary sent us these
pictures from Edinburgh of their stay in Wick.

Highland Council
Take To The Road
The Highland Council has decided to hold up to four additional
meetings of the full council outwith Inverness to focus more on local and
policy issues. The first meeting will be held in the Assembly Rooms, Wick on
Thursday 18 April.

Speed Restrictions
On A9 For Six Weeks At Tomatin
Watch your speed going through the road works
at Tomatin for 6 weeks. A 30 mile an hour limit will be in
force in both directions and speed cameras are in place.
Earlier road works in the past have resulted i many people getting
fines for speeding through the road works area, Remember its
30mph or a fine and penalty points on your license.

First
Herring Queen Rachael "Retta" Sinclair Shearer 1937
We
have to correct an earlier statement on the web site regarding the first
Herring Queen in Wick. It turns out that Isobel Cormack was the
Herring Queen in 1939 we had wrongly thought she was the first.
Billy Mackay son of Rachael "Retta" Shearer has been in touch and sent us
some photos. Consequently we have now set up a new Herring Queens
section and will add other information and pictures as any are sent to us.

Emergency Repairs
At Castle Sinclair
Emergency Repairs have been carried out at Sinclair
Castle following the slippage of the keystone in the arch of the main
entrance. The Earl of Caithness said: It is sad the slippage happened,
and it underlines just how fragile the castles are, but we are pleased the
trust has been able to rush in and carry out the work which required
scheduled monument consent. This illustrates just how vulnerable the
whole site is, and the urgency to carry out full restoration work.

International Women's
Day 8 March
There are no events as far as we know in Caithness
to mark this day but you will find plenty of links to information on other
parts of Scotland. Given the often bad conditions that many women
find themselves in both in the UK and abroad it may be that some of you
are looking for more information to see what can be done to assist.
There are many web sites dealing with the problems but by all means use
the Caithness.Org message board if you feel there are local issues that
need aired. There are plenty of issues around that maybe do not get
much attention such as inequalities in pay, lack of services and problem
drinking or drugs related issues.

First Fish Of Season Caught On Thurso River
John
Bojda with the first fish of the season on the Thurso River. It was caught
on Saturday in the Comlifoot pool on beat four and weighed nine pounds.
John also caught the first fish of the 2001 season which was caught by on
2 April and weighed in at nine and a half pounds.

East
Caithness SWRI 2002 Bulb Show Success
SWRI East Caithness had a very successful 2002 bulb show on Saturday
proving the ladies had not forgotten how to compete even though last years
show was cancelled due to Foot and Mouth. Slightly less entries was
more than made up for the brilliant display and what we cannot bring you
incredible scents from many of the flowers on show. If you missed
the East of the county show then SWRI West Caithness hit the competition
trail next Saturday 9 March in the British Legion Hall, Thurso.

Wick Scouts And Helpers Were In
Safeways Wick for Marie Curie Cancer Care
Wick
Scouts were joined by Bill from Caithness.Org, Margaret Sutherland and
Charlotte Shearer seen here to raise funds during Daffodil Day. As
in previous years shoppers were very generous with their donations.
a count is not yet available - that's a job for Sunday. We will post
it up as soon as its known.
Thanks to the scouts and the two ladies who gave up part of their Saturday
to help.

Seals Defy Everything To Move Them
In Thurso
Jet-ski scaring the seals?????? - well it
didn't work they were pretty soon back on their 'island'! Some have
mastered getting up on the narrow ledge between the water and the fence -
other cleverer ones can get under the fence at the low channel you can see
in the island. They were swimming in and out all morning!

February Visitors
Break the Records Yet Again
Hits 2,924,065,
Pages 373,287 Visitors 67,886
Yes this was the biggest month yet...again and we thank our
many visitors for coming back. Although it may not look like it
right away remember that February only has 28 days. The daily
average visitor numbers to Caithness.Org rose by 5.4% over January and in
the Business Pages by a whopping 11.9%. The equivalent for a 31 day
month to compare with January would have been -
Hits 3,237,330, Pages 413,261, 75,113
Current projections on this level would give us over 900,000
visitors looking at over 5,000,000 pages with a hit rate of 36 million
plus for 2002

Thurso Thistle In Sports Pages
Several new
pictures in the Sports Pages today. Thurso Thistle and also the
Ashes Team . Action pictures from Caithness United Under12's.

Traditional Boat
Under Construction At Waterlines Museum, Lybster
The
Waterlines museum opened last may in Lybster to show the heritage of the
local fishing industry. As part of bringing it to life a boat is
being constructed within the centre to let everyone see how it was done.
If you are travelling up the road to Wick once the biggest herring port in
Europe you could not do better than call into
Lybster and take a look at
Waterlines
at the harbour.